Cervical stitch during a twin pregnancy

Your obstetric team considers your pregnancy history, ultrasound findings, whether the cervix is shortening or opening, and whether there are signs of labour, bleeding, infection or broken waters.

Cervical cerclage places a strong suture around the cervix to help it remain closed. It is intended to reduce the chance of late pregnancy loss or early birth when cervical weakness or early opening is a concern. The stitch cannot stop every pathway that leads to preterm labour, including contractions or infection. In a twin pregnancy, potential benefit and procedural risk require particularly careful assessment.

Attend the recommended cervical-length scans and specialist appointments. Tell the team about previous late miscarriages, early births, cervical procedures and any earlier cerclage. If a stitch is proposed, ask why it is appropriate in your specific twin pregnancy, what alternatives are available, what anaesthetic is planned and how removal will be managed. Follow your maternity unit’s instructions about activity, sex, medicines and follow-up rather than starting bed rest on your own.

Contact your maternity unit promptly if you develop regular tightening or cramping, fluid leaking from the vagina, continued or heavy bleeding, fever, or foul-smelling or green discharge. Seek assessment as well for new pelvic pressure or persistent backache if your team has advised these may signal early labour. If labour begins or your waters break while a stitch is in place, urgent review is needed because the stitch may need removal.

Ask what finding is driving the recommendation, how your cervical measurements are changing, and what would make the team advise against insertion. Clarify the possible harms, the monitoring plan after the procedure, whom to call out of hours, and which symptoms mean you should go directly to the maternity unit.